


Telling Ray

by All_I_Want_Is_You



Series: My boys deserve a family [2]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-02-23
Packaged: 2021-03-13 20:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,990
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29656926
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/All_I_Want_Is_You/pseuds/All_I_Want_Is_You
Summary: The follow up to A Torn Flannel that literally no one asked for! Julie and the boys tell Ray about the phantoms and how they lived before they died.
Series: My boys deserve a family [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2179323
Comments: 6
Kudos: 50





	Telling Ray

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, I don't own anything. If I did, there would already be a second season
> 
> *trigger warning*: There is some talk of conversion camps and throwing objects at children. Please don't read if either of those things trigger you. Also, if you need help, please reach out to someone. It is never okay for those things to happen.

“So,” Ray started. “Does someone want to finally clue me in on what’s been going on around here?” Ray looked first at his daughter, Julie, then shifted his gaze over to his son, Carlos.

When Julie had come inside from the studio, she looked as if she had been crying and called for Carlos to please come downstairs.

Once Carlos had joined them, Julie turned to her Papí, opened her mouth, but nothing came out. She turned to Carlos who just shrugged at her. That was when Ray had stepped in.

Julie’s eyes shifted slightly to Ray’s left, seemed to focus on something, and then shifted back to meet her dad’s. Ray glanced around him, trying to see what she was looking at.

“I guess starting at the beginning makes the most sense, but I’m just not sure where the beginning is,” Julie started. Again, her attention shifted away from Ray, this time to both the left and the right. Not frantically, as she would if she was panicking, but as if she was paying attention to someone else. Two someone elses.

“I guess I’ll start this way...have you heard of a band called Sunset Curve? They were a rock group in the early- to mid-nineties,” Julie began.

Not sure what a 25 year old rock band had anything to do with anything, Ray took his time to consider, “That name seems vaguely familiar. I think your mom mentioned them a couple times, right when we got together,” Ray mused. “Haven’t heard anything from them in a while, though,” he continued.

Julie smirked, “That’s because they died in 1995. Tragic accident,”

Ray frowned, unsure why Julie was being so callous about the death of people who were basically her age. 

“Was it a car accident?”

“No, their idiot lead singer/guitar player told them to eat street dogs out of someone’s rusty car trunk AND THEY DID!” Julie smirked again, but Ray had the feeling that it was more of a sarcastic smirk and that she wasn’t aiming it at him. Again, Ray looked around the room.

Carlos jumped up off his place on the couch, “Can I do the next part? Please, Julie! I wanna show him how I found out, too,” Carlos begged.

Julie nodded and Carlos leapt over the back of the couch, ignoring Ray’s exclamation of “Hey!” as he did so. He ran up the stairs to get something, leaving a still confused Ray looking at his daughter. No matter what was going on, Ray had to believe it was a good thing. Julie had rarely looked so animated, not even when her mom was still alive. It was nothing short of a miracle, if you asked Ray.

Carlos stumbled back down the staircase mere moments later. In his hands was a CD with the name Sunset Curve on it. Carlos opened the case and took out the inlay card and opened it up. Carlos handed it to Ray and stepped back to wait next to his sister.

They didn’t have to wait very long before Ray made a connection, “Hey, this group looks just like Julie’s holograms!” 

Carlos and Julie glanced at each other and then Julie spoke, “What if I told you they weren’t holograms?” 

Ray considered that for a moment, “Then I would have to ask you what you thought they were,” he started to answer slowly. Ideas were swimming in his brain, and when two of them hit each other, he made another connection.

“Does this have anything to do with my sudden improved memory?” Ray asked suspiciously. Ever since Julie had found her music again, Ray had been losing things less and less. His keys, wallet, and phone were always in sight, and there were nights when Ray would hear locks clicking into place and he would go check them, only to find them still locked. 

Again, Julie glanced behind Ray. She sighed at whatever she found, and simply nodded.

“So my not-missing things, a dead band that are dopplegangers of Julie’s holograms, and what? That kid I saw in the kitchen?” Ray led. Again, all Julie did was nod.

Ray was raised with a very healthy religious background. It was a little stifling, if he was being honest with himself. That’s why he insisted on saying Grace before dinner, but allowed the kids to make their own blessings, as long as they were sincere about it.

Therefore, it wasn’t too much of a leap for Ray to believe in things like an afterlife.

“Mijos, I’m not sure I’m quite understanding where you are coming from. Are you trying to tell me that your Tía was right and that we are being haunted?” Ray tried to rationalize what he was saying. Maybe seeing Dr. Turner again would be a good idea for everyone.

Julie groaned, as if she knew what he was thinking.

“Guys, isn’t there something you can do to help us out? You do realize how crazy this is making me and Carlos look, right?” Julie paused after her question, as if listening to an answer. 

“Do you think we could do it the same way we showed Flynn?” Another pause.

“I don’t want to traumatize him!” Julie firmly insisted.

Oh, boy. If Julie is having full on conversations with herself, maybe Dr. Turner is the right answer, Ray thought.

“Dad, you may want to sit down for this next part. None of us are able to pick you up off the floor if you faint,” Julie seemed resigned to what was about to happen.

Ray decided to humor his daughter and moved himself to the couch. Carlos practically vibrated next to him with eager energy.

Still standing, Julie spun around so her back was facing her family and started to have a whispered debate with nobody. 

“Alright, dad,” Julie spun back around. “Please, just - try to keep an open mind about this?”

Ray just raised his eyebrow at Julie, ready to finally know what was going on.

Julie nodded, getting the message loud and clear. She started humming softly. From behind her, Ray heard an acoustic guitar start to play. After a few bars of playing, Ray jumped. Suddenly, it wasn’t just Carlos, Julie, and himself in his living room. There was a boy in an orange beanie and sleeveless t-shirt. Then a muted drumming started and a boy in a pink sweatshirt and a fanny pack across his chest appeared. Finally, a bass started to play and the boy that Ray saw in the kitchen that morning appeared. He was back to wearing his flannel that Julie had taken up to her room. Ray noticed that Julie had sewn a dahlia patch on the shoulder of it.

Julie stopped humming, but the boys kept quietly playing their instruments. 

“They aren’t holograms,” Julie said, quite redundantly. “They’re -”

“Ghosts,” Ray breathed. Julie nodded. 

She continued her explanation, “They are only visible when they play music with me. We aren’t sure why. You can ask them any questions you have,” Julie invited. 

Ray nodded, absently. He had many questions, he just wasn’t sure which to start with. He decided to start with the most recent and work his way backwards.

“So it was…” Ray trailed off, embarrassed that he didn’t remember the name of the band member he saw this morning.

“Reggie,” Julie supplied.

“Right. So it was Reggie I saw this morning. What happened that made him visible? I don’t remember hearing any music playing,” Ray finished his question.

Of course, it would be the question that the band still had and couldn’t answer.

“We don’t know why, R- Mr. Molina,” Reggie himself was the one who answered. “That’s the first time something like that has ever happened,”

Ray nodded before moving on to his next question, “And I assume it was one of you who keeps finding my things for me?” Again, Reggie was the one who answered.

“That would be me, again, sir. I can stop if you’d like. I just -” Reggie cut himself off, not sure if he should say it.

“Finish that thought please, Reggie,” Ray asked, curious about the paternal feelings he felt towards this boy who was somehow his age but also only the age of his daughter. He shook that thought out of his head. It was too weird.

“I like spending time with you, sir,” Reggie continued. Julie went over and put her hand on Reggie’s shoulder and squeezed it gently. He looked over at her with all the love someone could show on their face and he took a deep breath to continue, “Usually when you are in the kitchen, or looking through photos. I find it relaxing to be around an adult who isn’t yelling or throwing things. I like helping you, too. It makes me feel good,” Reggie mumbled that last part, a hint of red brightening his cheeks. Again, Julie was right there, making sure that Reggie knew his feelings were allowed and valid. 

Ray decided to give Reggie and break and started asking more general questions that the other band members could answer.

“So, have you guys always been here or have you only recently, uh, moved in?” Was Ray’s next question.

Luke decided to take this question, “Well, uh, remember that night Julie said she left the CD player on in the studio? Yeah, that was us. Sorry,” Luke didn’t appear all that sorry, though. “We didn’t know people could hear us. That was when we got here,” Ray nodded, absorbing that information.

“Can you just, I don’t know, tell me about yourselves?” Ray asked. He had so many questions, he had no idea where to start or even how to start asking. He was hoping that by having the boys introduce themselves, some of his questions would get cleared up and he would be able to organize the ones that remained a little easier. 

Seemingly Luke was the ringleader of the group, which made sense, given that he was the lead singer and guitar player. He started his story,

“My parents bought me a guitar when I was around 10. After the first lesson, I knew right away that my life had changed. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. Unfortunately, my parents had hoped that this would be more of a hobby for me. I had just turned 17 when I had a major blowout argument with my mom. She had wanted to sell my guitar, saying that I should focus on things that mattered more and would get me a job. I grabbed my backpack, filled it with the first clothes I touched, grabbed my guitar and left. I ran away. I ended up actually staying in your garage, only it wasn’t your garage back then. It was just a little addition to a house that got torn down before this one went up. I was going to prove my parents wrong. I was going to prove to them that I could make this a career and that music matters. Not just to me, but to millions of people!” Luke was out of breath. He was getting worked up about this. It had been a long time since he had told the full story like that. He took a deep breath, looked at Julie, and continued in a softer voice, “This band is the best family that I have,” 

Ray was shaken to his core. He couldn’t imagine taking something Julie loved like that away. Clearly his parents didn’t know that they had borne a rock star and wanted to snuff out that light.

Alex decided he would be next, “My story is a little different. I wasn’t kicked out of my house, nor did I run away, though there are definitely times I wished desperately for either of those things. My parents were the strictest kind of religious fanatics. The kind that would send their only son to a… a conversion camp,” tears started to slide down everyone’s face at those words. Julie and Carlos were raised in an understanding house, but also in a time period when conversion camps were mostly illegal and almost all were shut down. “They could deal with my anxiety. They actually supported my drumming, in that aspect. It was the fastest thing they knew of that would calm me down. After I found Sunset Curve, I found an accepting family who would always love and support me,” Alex choked on his emotions then, and Julie rushed over and hugged him. At her impact, she knocked them both over and they ended up on the floor. 

With Alex no longer drumming, he quickly disappeared from sight, though Julie could obviously still see him. She looked like she was floating, though Ray had seen enough before Alex disappeared to know that she was laying on top of him, squeezing him in the tightest hug possible. They both lay there for a time, Julie muttering quietly in Alex’s ear while tears were dripping down her face.

Reggie then started talking, giving the two a moment of semi-privacy.

“My parents fought. A lot. It was worse when my brother left. He thought that would make it better, but they fought even more because they blamed each other for making Sam leave. There were times that I would get hit. Accidents, you know? I would try to stop them from throwing things, but then I would get hit instead and then they would blame each other and it just started another round of screaming. I would leave a lot. Just, not be there. I would hang out with the band. My parents wouldn’t even notice I was gone. Sometimes not for days at a time. I spent a lot of time trying to find my brother, but that never happened. All I have left of him is the note he left me the day he left and his flannels. This is the last one from the pile he gave me. That’s why I was such a mess when it tore. I realize now that I don’t need a flannel to be part of a family. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like it!” Reggie rushed that last sentence, looking over at where Julie was now sitting in the air (or more likely, Alex’s lap, Ray thought), who smiled over at Reggie and just dipped her head a little in understanding.

Ray cleared his throat, sounding choked when he started talking, “I suppose that since you guys are ghosts, I can’t formally adopt you, but I want you all to know, you are ALWAYS welcome in the Molina house. Nothing short of murder, and maybe not even then, would stop me from being thankful that you came into our lives when you did. You saved music for my little girl, and from what I’ve seen, have been nothing short of family. What happened to you guys is awful, but I’m so thankful that it brought you to us,” Ray finished his little speech.

The idea that teenagers from the nineties were having such an impact on his life now was laughable. 

Ray looked quickly at Luke, “However, you and I are going to have a chat, yes? Soon,” Ray warned. Luke gulped, but nodded his head.

Ray nodded, “Then there is only one thing left to do,” he announced. Carlos, who was being surprisingly quiet until Ray looked over and saw him in tears, looked over at his dad, as did Julie from the floor. 

“Group hug!” Ray stated. 

“Wait!” Julie interrupted, before Ray could even take a step. “When you saw Reggie this morning, and touched his clothes, it was after he touched me and then you. Maybe if you both do that, you can see and feel them, too,” Julie theorized. Ray thought that it made sense. 

She got up off the floor and started bossing the ghosts around, “Luke, Reggie, Alex. Stand in a line. Yes, Luke. Reggie, that is a horrible idea, let’s do it. Alex, you saw him. It will be different this time,” Julie was reassuring her boys.

Julie turned her head towards Carlos and Ray, “Follow behind me and touch where I touch. I’m going to touch the tops of their shoulders, so that’s where you should try to touch as well,” Julie instructed.

Julie went up to the first spot of seemingly empty air, with Carlos right beside her and then Ray brought up the rear. Julie put her hand out and gently told Carlos to put his hand over hers. When he had done so, Julie removed her hand and pressed lightly down on Carlos’s. That was enough to have him gasping, so Ray thought it must have worked. He was eager to try. He reached over Carlos and put his hand there as well. Carlos moved his and Julie pressed on her dad’s. Sure enough, Luke appeared before his eyes, even after Julie took her hand away from them.

After that first one, the other two went fairly quickly. Reggie was next, with Alex being the last one. Ray took one look at the boy’s red rimmed eyes and grabbed him in a hug. He tried to put all the feelings of happiness, thankfulness, gratitude, and love he had towards these boys and push them through his hug into the ghost. Alex stiffened for a moment, and then melted into the hug.

Julie smiled. This was her family. Her entire family.

“Now, dad. Now we can do a group hug,” Julie said, more than a little content at how well this had gone.

It was one of the best group hugs anyone in the group had ever had. It quickly went from a hug to a pile on the floor, where all six of them watched movies and TV shows, always in contact with at least two others from the group. 

None of them wanted those feelings to end.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please leave a kudos, or even better, a comment!


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